From cigarettes and cabbage leaves to evidence-based breastfeeding care

“Mild” cigarettes for new moms?

This week, Lactamo was honored to receive the 2026 Baby Innovation Award for Breastfeeding Accessories Product of the Year. While we are very proud of the recognition, what we are most excited about is what it represents. Over the years, breastfeeding has been one of the most volatile aspects of healthcare. The award shows that evidence-based practice in breastfeeding is receiving the attention it deserves.

To understand why this is important, it helps to look back at the history of “new” breastfeeding.
A 1954 ad for Philip Morris featured a mother and child and marketed smoking as “gentle”. Today, it seems like nonsense. Yet it serves as a powerful reminder that health care changes. Science is changing. And what is considered acceptable can change dramatically over time. Breastfeeding support has gone through a similar journey.

For generations, women experiencing breastfeeding difficulties have been advised to try everything from cabbage leaves to massages and electric toothbrushes. This was not because these methods were evidence-based, but because breastfeeding skills have been very low.

This is unusual when you consider the following:

• Almost 92% of mothers experience similar problems during breastfeedingincluding engorgement, blocked ducts, mastitis, pain and anxiety about availability.
• Breastfeeding is very beneficial for the health of both mother and child.
• Successful breastfeeding outcomes provide significant social and economic benefits through reduced health care costs and improved long-term health outcomes.

However, despite this, breastfeeding remains one of the most neglected and underdeveloped areas of healthcare.

Breastfeeding history

Historically, women had no choice but to rely on community wisdom and domestic support. There was little understanding of:

• Physiology of breast tissue
• Swelling and edema
• Heal breast massage
• Muscle mechanics
• Lymphatic drainage

Innovation, where there was, was largely focused on feeding children rather than helping mothers.

Time for old breast pumps

Early pumps resembled laboratory equipment more than traditional medicine. Although breast pumps have revolutionized breastfeeding and enabled millions of women to continue breastfeeding, they were designed around one function: to remove the milk. They are not designed to solve the problems that many mothers face during breastfeeding. This difference is still important today.

While some pump companies are improving performance, pumps are not specifically designed to deal with the physical problems of breastfeeding, including engorgement, inflammation, blocked ducts, muscle mechanics or lymphatic drainage.

Cabbage leaf

Few breastfeeding ‘medicines’ are more popular than cabbage leaves. For years, frozen cabbage leaves have been recommended for breast enlargement and discomfort. The exact mechanism by which cabbage may provide relief is not well understood and the evidence is still limited. At a basic level, we know that freezing is beneficial, and, at first, cabbage leaves are curled like breasts. We think women deserve more than this!

However, cabbage leaves have become one of the world’s most popular breastfeeding remedies. Why? Because mom needed something. The popularity of cabbage leaves emphasizes an important point: tThe unmet need in breastfeeding support has existed for generations.

Heat, strong massage and vibration

For years, women with blocked ducts or mastitis have been advised to:

• Put on high heat
• Touch us deeply and fiercely
• Put it firmly and shake the breast

These methods are deeply rooted in breastfeeding advice. Today, our understanding has changed dramatically. Increasingly, today’s evidence recognizes the importance of protecting the soft tissue of the breast and avoiding procedures that may cause inflammation or tissue injury.

Time for an electric toothbrush

Perhaps nothing shows a new difference in breastfeeding success than the widespread use of household appliances. Until recently, women were advised to use electric toothbrushes. Again, not because these devices were designed for breastfeeding, but because women were looking for relief and the appropriate methods were not available. When women are using home appliances to overcome the difficulties of breastfeeding, it shows a group that has not been used much by modern technology.

Finally, science works

Fortunately, the understanding of lactation physiology has grown significantly in recent years.

Thanks to the work of researchers, students, midwives, lactation consultants and medical professionals around the world, we now understand more about:

✔ Swelling and chest edema

✔ Lymphatic drainage

✔ Muscle mechanics

✔ Gentle healing massage

✔ Breast tissue integrity

✔ Helping breast comfort and milk flow through proper physical activity

This growing body of evidence has dramatically changed the way breastfeeding problems are understood and managed. Most importantly, today’s guidelines recognize the role of soft tissue and lymph drainage.

A new era of breastfeeding technology

At Lactamo, we believe that women should have something designed specifically for breastfeeding, rather than adapted from unrelated products or home remedies. That belief led us to ask a simple question: what if breastfeeding care could be evidence-based and designed around the breast body?

That question led to the development of Lactamo. Lactamo is the world’s first breastfeeding aid designed to help with water retention by combining:

• Temperature (cold and hot, depending on need)
• Walking
• Light stress

It brings together decades of international research and links directly to today’s evidence, including the 2022 Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Mastitis Protocol.

Over the past six years, Lactamo has also developed a growing independent portfolio, including:

✔ Independent clinical trials

✔ Biomarker studies evaluating the effects of Lactamo

✔ Hospital pilots demonstrate what they describe as “unprecedented breastfeeding support”

Breastfeeding is already overdue

This week, Lactamo received the honor of receiving 2026 Baby Innovation Award – Breastfeeding Equipment of the Year.

For us, this realization represents more than one thing: it represents a major change in breastfeeding care:

• From anecdote to evidence
• From advanced services to purpose-built solutions
• From symptom management to understanding physiology

And perhaps most importantly, it represents a growing recognition that women should have the same level of evidence-based counseling that we expect in all areas of health care.

We have come a long way since cigarettes were marketed to new mothers. At Lactamo we work with hospitals, academics, lactation consultants and partners around the world, and our ongoing clinical results speak for themselves.

Since its launch, Lactamo has received several international awards, independent clinical validation and a growing adoption by medical professionals and hospitals around the world.

We’ve got some exciting things to look forward to, including an upcoming announcement to (restrictedly) put Lactamo front and center in the history books – but this time not alongside cigarettes, but in a way we should all be proud of!

This is a profound representation of how far women’s health and breastfeeding have come, and the growing awareness that supporting women is important. Because if 92% of mothers still face known breastfeeding problems, our work is just beginning. Watch this space.

Please help us on hello@lactamo.com if you want more.